Passionate
by samanthabravo
Summary: A drabble collection featuring multiple characters and couples from the series. I really miss this show!
1. Cake: Endora and Miguel

**Passionate**

**This is a collection of Passions themed drabbles I am writing to celebrate the 20th anniversary of this beloved show. I hope you enjoy them!**

* * *

**Cake**

Blame it on the damn cake - or rather, that silly mortal tradition, as her mother Tabitha had referred to it.

Endora and Maria had gone to the event of the season in Harmony - also known as Sheridan and Luis's wedding - and had come home carrying generous slices of __tres leches__ tucked carefully inside twin Tupperware containers. Maria's aunt Theresa had told them earlier in the evening of the legend that said if they were to put wedding cake under their pillows they would dream about the men they were someday to marry.

Maria, ever the romantic, had gone straight up to bed with her slice of __tres leches__ while Endora, generally more pragmatic, dawdled downstairs debating over what to do. Her mother told her to just eat the damn thing because smushing it under her pillow was a waste of a perfectly delicious confectionary treat.

Endora couldn't explain what compelled her to finally go upstairs and sneak the Tupperware into her pillowcase. She just felt that she should do it. What could be the harm in it anyway?

After changing into her favorite comfy, midnight blue nightgown, she shut off the lights and climbed into her small twin bed. She lay on the mattress, shifting about, trying to get comfortable with what felt like a rock beneath her skull. It took at least two hours of fidgeting and frustration before fatigue finally overtook her and she dropped off into a deep sleep.

It didn't take long for her to enter the Dream State. She was a witch, after all. They always had eventful dreams. Important dreams. __Prophetic__ dreams…

__She found herself in some kind of field. (Weren't there always fields in these kind of dreams?) A swirl of white mist gathered around the hem of her amber dress, clinging to her supple body. At sixteen, she had developed quite nicely, but in her dreams, she was even curvier and prettier. She looked startlingly pouty and perky. She liked her appearance here - she was both sultry and sophisticated.__

__All she could see for miles was that mist - that penetrating white fog. She started walking - very regal-like in her impossibly high stiletto heels. She wasn't sure how long or how far she had walked before she seemingly arrived at her destination, a small house - something like a boating house or a little shanty. She didn't know what to make of it exactly.__

__She walked to the door that suddenly appeared through the mist. She tried the knob in her hand, feeling no fear, only a sense of needing to find something, or someone, very urgently. She heard water lapping nearby as she pushed back the door. She walked inside. The mist preceded her. Through it though, she could just make out the figure of someone; a tall someone.__

__"Hello," Endora called out in greeting. She wasn't afraid. For one, she wasn't the fearful type. Her mother hadn't raised her to cower and she had already tangled many times with the things that went bump in the night and had survived. Two, she sensed this person … whomever they were … was goodness personified. Someone she really wanted to know. __

**_**_Needed_**_**__ to know. "Who are you? Come over here," she said. Gently, yet commanding.__

__The mist began to part, starting from the floorboards swirling upwards. Bare feet were unveiled first to her naked eye. Then lean legs. Denim hugged them in all of the right places. The mist swirled upwards still more, revealing a hard, muscular - but not obnoxiously so! - chest. Bronze skin, dark nipples, strong broad shoulders and a lean, taut throat.__

__Endora sucked her bottom lip between her teeth. Her whole body had begun to tremble as the last of the fog ebbed away. She couldn't believe who she now stared at - who gazed at her with such perfect, heavy-lidded green eyes.__

**__"__****_**_Miguel,"_**_**__ she said hoarsely. She was verbose by nature; always had been, even when she was just a little one. But right then, additional words failed her. She just stood there, gaping at this beautiful specimen of man, wondering exactly what was going on. How did he get into her dream? Sure he was a great guy; she'd known him forever, but he was what - thirty-something? Not to mention that he was Kay's husband and her best friend Maria's father! And yet here in the misty ether of dreams, none of that exactly mattered, did it?__

__He moved to her; scooped her into his arms, pulled her flush against his strong chest, murmured soft Spanish words against her ear that she couldn't possibly hope to understand. She shivered as his warm breath tickled her ear and his arms cradled her. "Endora, beautiful, sweet Endora, I have been waiting for you. I've been waiting so long for us to be together. Now it's time," Miguel whispered. __

**__"__****_**_Dame un beso."_**_**

__That command she definitely understood. He gently cupped her chin in his hand, hovered his full lips near hers, leaned in close and …__

Endora jolted upright in bed. Her forehead was sweaty; her heart hammered almost painfully against her ribcage. She panted wildly. She'd never had a dream quite like this one - so vivid; so intimate. It was almost claustrophobic in nature, but also so entirely pleasant that she was shaken to her very core. She reached for her pillow to find the Tupperware still there. She told herself that the power of suggestion was responsible for all of this… but why Miguel? Why should he of all people appear in her dreams? That was the part she could not figure out.

Come morning, she hesitated to head downstairs, so sure that when she walked into the kitchen for breakfast, Miguel would be there as always with Kay and they would both see it. Somehow they would both know what she had dreamt about. She would be humiliated.

However, when she finally gathered her courage and slipped into the kitchen, she found it blessedly empty. She sighed with relief, planning to just grab a quick bite of cereal and fly out of there in a hurry - on her broomstick, if necessary.

She was busy filling a bowl with Lucky Charms when she heard bare feet padding across the linoleum. She instinctively turned around and her mouth formed into a little "O". Miguel stood there - bare-chested, wearing low-riding jeans and looking every bit as handsome as he had in her dream. She felt her face color and she quickly turned away.

"Hey, kiddo," Miguel said, breaking the awkward silence. "How'd you sleep?"

"Oh... Uh, good," Endora managed to say. She wondered if he knew. Was there some part of him that knew what she had dreamt? Was that possible or was she just going insane? And why - why did he have to call her kiddo? She was sixteen! She was practically a woman. In two years, she would be legal - old enough to date him; old enough to marry him even!

Wait, where had that thought come from? He was already married! To Kay. Kay who had always treated Endora like her own. It was wrong to have these lascivious thoughts about Miguel and yet … She couldn't make them stop now.

Endora sighed and watched him under her long eyelashes as he moved about the kitchen. He tried to engage her in idle chatter but she could hardly keep up her end of the conversation, so focused was she on watching his mouth, noticing just how pronounced those dimples of his were... He really was the perfect package.

Maria appeared at some point, practically pouncing on Endora. "I dreamt about my future husband!" Maria crowed. "Guess who I dreamt about?"

Endora's eyes strayed again to Miguel. He buttered toast and she decided that was the sexiest show of buttering toast ever committed by a single living person. "Uh, who?" Endora asked absent-mindedly.

"Niall Horan!" Maria gushed. "I dreamt about Niall Horan. I just knew I was going to marry someone from One Direction." Maria fairly danced around the kitchen. "Oh, Endora, who'd you dream about? Who's your future husband going to be?"

Endora about choked on her tongue. She forced her eyes away from Miguel. "Uh... Another one of the One Direction guys," she lied. "You know the one with uh... lots of uh... hair...?" She had never been one for obsessing over popstars. That was Maria's thing; not hers.

"Harry Styles? Do you mean Harry Styles? Are you going to marry Harry?" Maria's brown eyes danced.

Endora nodded. "Yes, that's him." Maria grabbed her hands and fairly danced Endora around the kitchen with her, screaming, "Papa, Papa! We're going marry the most handsomest guys in the whole world!"

Miguel chuckled. "Okay, well, I want to meet these handsome dudes first; make sure they're worthy of you two," he said indulgently. He winked at them both and Endora's heart fluttered. He grabbed his toast and he then he walked out of the kitchen.

Maria's chattering faded into the periphery of her consciousness as Endora sighed. She understood her destiny now. She was going to marry Miguel Lopez-Fitzgerald someday. She knew that instinctively. Somehow, someway, consequences be damned, they were going to be together.

\- _****Where exactly this drabble idea came from, I'm not sure, but I hope it turned out halfway alright. Enjoy! lol****_


	2. Baby Blues: Gwen

**_This is a sad one, sorry. But I, the fangirl, will never get over baby Sarah's death! It was the saddest thing ever!_**

* * *

****Baby Blues****

Tiny blonde lashes brush chubby alabaster cheeks. Blue eyes assess whereabouts as a little body stirs. Soon, frantic wailing begins in earnest.

__The baby is finally awake.__

Gwen has been rooted to this very seat for what could have been hours now, completely hypnotized by the sight of that precious pink bundle. She watches now as the baby's mother places her oversized mug down on the Formica tabletop, and fusses over her little daughter. Cooing softly, she lifts the infant from her car seat and presses a gentle hand to her back, cradling her to an ample chest.

The baby's pathetic sobs fill the café. Several other patrons flick their heads towards the scene in annoyance. The young mother's cheeks color while her fingers fumble for the bottle tucked in the pocket of the yellow diaper bag. The little girl is now squirming in earnest and the bottle threatens to smack the floor. Gwen makes her move then. She grabs for the bottle right on time, handing it to the mother who smiles at her gratefully.

"Thank you... Sometimes I think I can do it all, and other times ..." The young mother's voice trails off. She gently places the soft nipple to her daughter's pale, pink lips. The baby immediately latches onto the offering and chugs away contendly.

"No one can do it all," Gwen says wisely. She gazes in wide-eyed wonder at the baby. She is simply beautiful - blonde with little curls spooling at the nape of her neck; blue-eyed; petite … all too precious … She looks just as Sarah had in that one moment, that one heartbreaking, precious moment, when she got to hold her daughter against her body. Only this baby is alive; this baby is thriving. This baby is blessedly, wonderfully, breathing.

Gwen nibbles her bottom lip. "She's so pretty. How old is she?" Gwen's eyes trace the curve of the baby's soft, plump cheeks.

"Six months," the mother answers. "Her name is Annie."

"What a lovely name for a lovely girl. She seems like such a little sweetheart. Hold onto her tightly."

"I will." The other woman looks up at Gwen. "Do you have any children of your own?"

Gwen slowly nods. "Her name was Sarah."

"Sarah … Was … __Oh…"__

Gwen sees a look of understanding, and then pity, cloud the woman's azure eyes. It's a look she has never quite gotten used to.

"I'm so sorry."

Gwen splays her hands in front of her. "It was a long, long time ago."

"But I imagine you never get over that sort of thing."

"No… No, you don't." Gwen's eyes burn. "Anyway, I should go. It was nice meeting you and Annie."

She allows herself one last, final look at the tiny bundle; imagines for the briefest of moments that Annie is really her beloved Sarah - imagines she is the one holding her and feeding her and protecting her the way she never had the chance to. And then Gwen turns and walks out of the busy café and tries to move forward with her life.  
__  
After all, what other choice did she have in the matter?__


	3. Weak-Kneed: Gwen and Jared

**Weak-Kneed**

_**Another Gwen-centric one because I thought she needed some love. Plus I just enjoy writing for her. Please tell me who you'd like to read about next!**_

_**Pairing: Gwen/Jared**_

* * *

In the past, she had told Ethan more times than she could count that she was through with him. In truth, she had meant it not even once. Not until this morning when she walked out of the Crane Mansion forever, Jared's hand wrapped around hers, did she feel like she was really done with Ethan. She was done with the lying, the cheating... just done with the emotionally stunted man-child she had called her husband off and on for the better part of a decade. She wasn't in love with him anymore anyway. Maybe she never had been. Maybe it was true what Theresa had always said – that she didn't really want him; she just didn't want anyone else to have him. When she thought of the lengths she had gone to hold onto him, she felt weak in the knees and not in a good way either. She had lost her daughter because of him; she had lost her innocence and her belief in the goodness of humanity. Only loving Jared – truly loving Jared – had ultimately given her what she had been searching for all along: __her freedom.__

It had all started ten months ago. Gwen was suddenly losing weight – much more than could possibly be healthy because she could hardly keep down her food; she was dizzy a lot and her nose kept bleeding. It was Jared that found her laying it the bushes at the mansion the day she fainted, the day her life would change forever in ways she could not have foreseen. He had called an ambulance and then insisted on riding with her to the hospital. It was him that sat beside her bed and held her hand when Dr. Russell gave her the news. It was Jared that told her she was strong enough to fight the disease eating away at her body. Ethan was far too busy that day carrying on another liaison with Theresa, so immersed in her drama - the way only he could stand to be.

Of course Ethan said all the right things when he finally did get to the hospital but Gwen was far too hurt and angry to listen to him at the time. He made all kinds of promises when she finally left the hospital with him. He swore he was going to be a good husband to her, even going so far as to recite their wedding vows to her ("till death do us part").

Ethan did and said all the right things at first but before long then he was staying out late again and Gwen would end up calling Jared to come over and sit by her, because she had no one else (her mother had said she hated to see her puke). He would sometimes hold her hair back as the chemo played horrible tricks on her body. And he'd make terrible jokes to get her through the times when she would break down crying with frustration and pain.

She didn't realize she was truly in love with him though until the day Eve told her the cancer was gone. Jared came with her to the hospital and swept her into his arms as she received the hopeful news. His face was so close to hers, his body so warm, that she could not resist the urge to kiss him. And not on the cheek either. Eve's eyes had bugged out and Gwen had just laughed. She should have felt like a jezebel for kissing a man in public who wasn't her husband but she didn't. She felt free and happy. Plus the way Jared was looking at her … She knew he felt that pull between them too. Even with her hair so short and her body so frail, he whispered, "You're amazing, Gwen Hotchkiss."

And she believed him. She realized she had never quite believed it when Ethan showered her with praise. She never trusted him the way she did Jared. She never had loved him the way she did Jared.

Things had moved quickly forward from there. Jared asked her to leave Ethan so they could try to figure out this powerful thing between them. In the past he would have felt no shame taking a married woman to bed, but if Gwen had changed knowing him, then so had he in knowing her. Loving each other had shifted everything.

At first Gwen was scared to say yes. What if one day Jared tired of her too? A lifetime of emotional abandonment had made her gun-shy, naturally. But he had said he could never tire of her and she thought it was true. Again, she had never quite trusted Ethan's fair-weather friend ways whereas with Jared... Well, he could say the moon was made of cheese and she would have no problem believing that it really was.

When she told Ethan, he was beyond shocked. Mostly shocked no doubt because she told him in no uncertain terms she didn't need him anymore. His ego took a hard hit, she was sure also, knowing that she was leaving him for another man – and Theresa's ex-husband at that. Theresa was there of course. She lived there - something Gwen couldn't believe now that Ethan had asked her to endure and that she, herself, had actually agreed to. Theresa accused Gwen of wanting everything she had and Gwen just shrugged it off. Theresa didn't affect her anymore and she almost felt sorry for the young woman. Theresa was stuck with Ethan now and who was to say that he would be true to her in the long run? Once a cheater, as the saying went, but Gwen wasn't going to dwell on that. She was only moving forward now.

Gwen told Ethan she would send for her stuff and then she walked out of there with Jared. They had just reached the front gate when he suddenly lightly spun her into his arms and kissed her. She felt weak-kneed all over again but this time it was the good kind of weak-kneed. Oh yes, the very best kind.


	4. Four Kisses: Theresa and Hank

****This story is about Hank and Theresa. I hope it turned out okay. I wrote it awhile ago!****

* * *

****Four Kisses That Led to Forever****

The first time they had kissed, it was a case of mistaken identity. A grand Halloween party at the Crane mansion had been in full-effect and Theresa had been invited by Ethan. He had told her that he was coming as Zorro and so she had dressed appropriately for the Catherine Zeta Jones role, complete with a tight bodice that exposed possibly too much of her breasts (Pilar had thrown a fit and made her throw on a shawl which Theresa ditched as soon as she arrived).

She spotted a tall dark-haired man dressed as Zorro swoop into the room - cape, mask and all - and she smiled widely. Ethan! He had finally come downstairs. She had been eagerly counting the minutes until her beloved appeared and there he was!

Without hesitation, she had moved over to him and reached up, grabbing him by either shoulder and pulling him down to her height, pressing her lips against his soft ones. She felt him stiffen almost immediately and knew something was wrong.

"Ethan?" she asked, her eyes wide.

He pulled off his mask. "'Fraid not," the man said and she stared in amazement at one other than Hank Bennett. He had shot up a good two feet since she had last seen him and he looked very handsome. His lips were creased in a little smile. "Sorry to disappoint you."

"I'm not disappointed," Theresa said, unconsciously touching her lips. "Just surprised. And embarrassed."

"Don't be. It could happen to anyone," Hank said and then he spotted Ethan approaching from the opposite way. "There's your Zorro." He gave her a little smile and walked away, disappearing into the throng of people.

XoXoXo

The second time they had kissed, it had been orchestrated by a third party. With Ethan's help, Theresa had finally launched her fashion business and she was looking for the perfect male model to do photo shoots with (since it had been decided Theresa should be the "face" of her own company called Fate Designs). She had begged Ethan to model with her but he had just laughed and said, "No thank you. I prefer to keep my dignity intact." It had been a bit of a hurtful comment but she too had laughed it off in the end.

She had been searching for weeks for the perfect guy to do the shoots with but all it took was one look at Hank playing basketball in her backyard with Luis, his shirt tied around his lean, tapered waist, for Theresa to decide she had found the perfect male specimen.

Talking him into it was another matter entirely. "I don't know, Theresa, I don't see myself as the modeling type."

"Oh come on, Hank. You'd be perfect and Ethan would pay you so well."

"I don't know if I like the idea of taking Crane money," Hank said. "Your brother is spouting off to everyone who will listen about how evil they are."

"Well trust me, Ethan is nothing like the rest of them."

In the end, it took some more cajoling but she finally got Hank to agree "to a few photo sessions". The first day of the shoot, Theresa had nervous butterflies in her stomach, especially when Hank walked in awkwardly wearing breeches and a flowing white shirt. Theresa smiled at him.

"I'm humiliated," he said. "I had no idea playing Mr. Darcy was on the agenda."

Theresa hitched her arm through his. "We're selling an image, Hank. One of the handsome, dapper, refined gentleman being swept off his feet by the doe-eyed, innocent beauty."

Hank smirked. "Which one do I play?"

Theresa giggled, realizing no one quite made her feel so comfortable in their presence as Hank did. They were still teasing and cajoling each other when the photographer came over. He immediately said he noticed "the chemistry" between them and wanted to play it up. They looked at each other warily but agreed to hold hands and hug if it fit the shoot. The photographer had other ideas though and ordered a costume change. Soon enough, Theresa was in a too-short pink dress she had designed and Hank was standing there, embarrassed, in nothing but a pair of blue jeans. The photographer then told them if they wanted to sell the designs, they had to do what he told them to. Which he said, meant they had to kiss.

Theresa looked at Hank shyly and he just shrugged at her. She looked at the photographer. "You don't understand, Gianni. I am engaged to another man."

Gianni shook his head. "This is just business. Now kiss or I walk out of the shoot and won't come back."

"Temperamental," Hank mock-whispered to her.

Theresa sighed. "Hank, he's the best photographer in the business. I really need him to do this shoot so I know its a lot to ask..."

"A lot to ask to kiss a beautiful woman and get paid for it?" Hank joked. "I don't think so. Besides, its just business, right?"

Soon they had kissed for the camera at least twenty times but it didn't feel very much like business to her.

XoXoXo

The third time they had kissed, they were both in extreme distress. Ethan had found out she had inadvertently sent the news of his paternity to the tabloids and wasn't speaking to her. On top of it all, Sheridan had been presumed dead in a boating accident and while everyone was gathered around Luis saying how much they felt his pain, no one was seeming to feel Hank's. He had loved Sheridan too. Theresa felt badly for him but also felt extremely upset about destroying her relationship with Ethan seemingly forever.

"He never wants to see me again," she cried as she showed up at the door of Hank's apartment. "I - I'm sorry. I didn't know where else to go."

He had ushered her into the small front room and led her over to the broken-down, ratty sofa, lightly pushing her down onto it. He started to move to the opposite chair but she grabbed his hand. "No, please. Just hold me."

He nodded and slipped down beside her, pulling her into his arms, resting his head on top of hers, her head fitting naturally into the crook of his neck, like it had belonged there all along. "He's my nephew it turns out," Hank murmured. "That's wild."

Theresa nodded. "I know and its all my fault it came out the way it did at our engagement party. I was so dumb to scan it into my computer. I was also a fool to think Ethan and I stood a chance!" She cried and her tears dampened his work shirt.

Then her eyes fell on a picture of Sheridan on the mantle and she clutched his hand. "God. How can I go on like this when you're obviously hurting so much? I may have lost Ethan but at least he's alive..."

"Hey, no worries. Sheridan was a good friend but its Luis who's really freaking out."

"I know he is ... but you loved Sheridan too. Who's looking out for you?"

He shook his head as he watched sympathetic tears fill her eyes anew. "I'm so sorry, Hank."

"Its okay. I'll be alright."

They talked in low tones for a long time and somehow in a moment of heightened emotion, Theresa found her lips crushed underneath Hank's. She didn't push him away. He instead pulled away first and murmured, "You're Ethan's girl. He's eventually going to forgive you and then ... I can't do this."

She nodded. "Right ... and you're grieving for Sheridan ..."

Still, she ended up staying that night long enough to fall asleep, fully-clothed, in his arms.

XoXoXo

The fourth time that they had kissed, it hadn't been planned either but would lead to forever.

Ethan had long since married Gwen and Theresa had begun to let go of her lifelong obsession with him, with Hank's steady assistance. Theresa eventually found herself cherishing every moment they spent together and counting the minutes and seconds even until she could see him again.

Winter rolled around again soon enough and they spent one whole morning throwing snowballs at each other. Hank finally cried defeat when she slammed a snowball into his nose. She hadn't intended to do it quite so hard but he crumpled to the ground in a heap anyway. She immediately ran over to him, screaming "I'm sorry, Hank, I didn't mean -" Her voice broke off as she dropped to her knees in the snow as she soon realized he was laughing.

"You jerk," she screamed and whacked his arm. Then she started to wrench herself upwards but he grabbed her arm and pulled her back to him. She landed on his chest and he laughed until he saw her eyes darken with desire.

"Can I kiss you?" He finally asked.

She nodded and soon their lips had found each others once again.

That was the fourth kiss but many, many more would come after that. One day he would marry her and seal their destiny with another kiss but for now they were just reveling in the joy of finding something truly lasting with each other.

FIN


End file.
